Blooming bogs: Wet, wild and wonderful

Thinking that the end of winter and the onset of spring means more sproutless mud and a rushed late-season garden planting again this year? Cheer up! Those wet places in your yard or on your property don't have to be just for mosquitoes anymore.


This spring, become one of the few, the brave ... the bog gardeners!


Where once only mud and muck prevailed, now flowers and foliage can take over. Blooming bogs can flourish in any soggy spot ... border a pond or water garden ... or trim a stream or drainage ditch. It's easy, fun and rewarding!


For sheer glory of varied texture, palette and prolific foliage and blooms, there's not much to match bog gardening. Better yet, even in cold climates, it's a full three-season garden producer, and all sincere efforts to garden a bog are well-rewarded!


That's because bog bloomers -- aquatics, bog plants and marginals -- flourish and spread happily and profusely when healthy and tended. So even a low-intensity bog gardening effort can go a long, long way.


All you really need is a sense of adventure, no contempt for dirty work, a good pair of gardening boots, some old clothes, a few garden tools and some starter plants.


And on that dreary March day next year, when you first see the mounds of brilliant golden Marsh Marigolds that have sprung from your first few plantings, ar see the flashing spikes of bright blue Iris that spread like wildfire beneath the moist soil surface, you'll congratulate yourself for your temerity and foresight!


No bog? Build one!


Don't have a wet spot or a natural bog? You can build one yourself so quickly and easily!


Begin by digging out an area of garden to a depth of at least nine inches, and lining the area with PVC pond liner to keep the soil soggy. Make sure the liner (or any heavy plastic) covers the bottom and extends about three-quarters of the way up the garden's sides.


You can secure the liner with an inch or two of small stones, which lets water from the garden's surface drain through the soil to the base. Then replace the soil with a rich mix of garden soil, compost, humus and peat moss.


Bog plants love wet, rich earth, so pile it on!


Choosing bog plantings